


you'll find something waiting (lying upside down)

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Happy(ish) ending, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Soulmate AU, valentine's day fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9720644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Their skin brushes and suddenly, everything is painted in screaming color.Ouma’s fingers hitch, causing the brown (brown?) liquid to cascade over the white (white?!) styrofoam, burning both him and the other boy. Said boy curses, waving his hands and blowing on it in a desperate attempt to cool it down, but all Kokichi can do is stare and stare and stare.“Hey,” Kokichi says, breathless, “what’s...what’s your name?”The boy frowns. “It’s Saihara Shuuichi. Why the hell do you want to know?”“Can’t...can’t you see it?”“What thehellare you talking about?”Soulmate AU where when you touch your soulmate for the first time, your world goes from monochrome to color.





	

It happens on the subway one day, when Ouma’s rushing to work because  _ shit  _ he’s gonna be late for yet another shift at work, fuck those coffee beans because they can grind themself, why wait for him when all he’s doing is blundering his way through another day, dammit. He’s got a scowl on his face, a deep rooted one that screams to the people around him that he  _ doesn’t want to talk. _

Nonetheless, he’s witness to two strangers - a girl with short cut grey hair and a boy with a messy mop - touch hands for the first time and let out simultaneous gasps as their worlds are filled with color.

_ Color. _

He’s heard of the term, who  _ hasn’t,  _ but like most who have yet to meet their soulmates, he has no idea what it is. Supposedly, the way he views the world now is  _ wrong,  _ because it’s what others dub as ‘black’ and ‘white’ and ‘monochrome’. But is there anything really wrong with that? 

Ouma hates the way they look down at him, with turned up noses and huffed exclamations that  _ he’s just missing out _ .

The grey haired girl leans in and taps him on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” she murmurs, eyes lit with delight as she hands her phone over, “do you mind taking a photo of us?”

He takes out one of his earbuds and sighs. “No problem,” he promises, and snaps a photo.

Kokichi doesn’t look as they kiss each other on the nose, and wonders how  _ anyone  _ can possibly be so ridiculously in  _ love  _ with someone they’ve just met.

 

.

 

“Oh, Ouma-kun!” Kiibo looks up from the register as Ouma rushes into the coffee shop, bell jingling annoyingly. “Good morning!”

“For some, I guess.” Ouma gives a messy salute as he trades his oversized coat for an apron. “Sorry for coming in late. I missed the first train. My bad.”

The older boy lets out a sympathetic click of the tongue. “No worries! It’s a pretty heavy snow, out there. We all have those bad, sucky days.”

“...I have these days every single day of the  _ week.” _

“And some of us have these days more often than others.”

Ouma chuckles darkly and ties the back of his apron. Stepping into the employers’ lounge, he smooths his hair back into a ponytail. Clipping back his bangs back with a sparkly clip, he stares into the mirror. It’s kind of a gross mirror, actually, with smudges and fingerprints littering its surface. He smiles tiredly and presses a hand to it, adding his own prints to the array.

“Ouma-kun? Please hurry up! I understand that you were late, but we open up in only ten minutes!”

“Coming!” He traces a heart on the mirror. Had the smudges not been so disgusting, chances are, it would be a bit more appealing. As things were now, however, it was gross. A cheap attempt to be romantic.

“Like some kind of stupid and cliche analogy for my own life!” Ouma hums, walking out of the lounge. Kiibo looks at him in confusion.

“I’m...sorry?”

“...it’s nothing.”

 

.

 

The day goes by as expected, without much out of the ordinary. It’s Valentine’s day, apparently - a fact that Ouma didn’t register when he woke up this morning - and the lovey dovey couples that filter into the café make him want to  _ puke. _

“Ooh, I  _ love  _ love!” Kiibo hums when there’s a lull in the shop’s activity. Kokichi raises an eyebrow.

“You have no idea how cheesy that sounded.”

Kiibo ignores him. “It must be so great, to have met your soulmate! You know that the entire universe has put you together, that  _ God  _ has put you together...and isn’t that amazing? Knowing that a greater power approves of your relationship?”

Ouma picks at his nails. “Eh, in my opinion it was more of a random picking. I don’t think any gods care enough about us.”

Kiibo sticks out his tongue. “On another topic, do you mind staying an extra shift?”

“...why?”

“Gonta-kun was planning on coming in later, but apparently, a family emergency came up. I can’t run the café by myself, and it’s hard to get anyone else in on such short notice.  _ And  _ on Valentine’s day.”

Ouma tosses his head back and groans dramatically.

“H-hey, don’t be like that! If you stay today, then you can leave early tomorrow.”

The smaller boy’s eyes narrow.

“If you don’t, I’ll snitch on you for coming in late.”

“So what you’re saying is, I never had a choice in the manner.”

“Yeah.”

_ “Fucking  _ dammit.”

 

.

 

Ouma’s taking a bite of one of yesterday's leftover donuts (one of the soulmate finders has dubbed it to have ‘pink’ frosting, but hell if he knows what that means), the café nearly deserted, when a couple walks through the door. The girl nods to the boy, pointing out what she wants on the menu, before sitting down on one of the benches.

The boy walks over, and Kokichi hurriedly wipes the frosting from his face in a half-assed attempt to look professional. Kiibo’s in the back, counting money, so it’s left to him to run the front. “Welcome, welcome~” He hums. “What would you like to eat?”

Ouma stares as the boy fumbles through his wallet, withdrawing several paper bills. “Two hot chocolates, please.” He murmurs, placing the bills on the counter. “And a donut. One of those special Valentine day ones.”

“Coming right up~!”

Kokichi picks up two styrofoam cups, filling them to the brim with the sugary, chemical filled liquid. It bubbles slightly, and he blows at it. Placing caps with the words “CAUTION: HOT” on top of the cups, he lets it click before using a napkin to pick up a donut and place it into a paper baggy. He places the food and drink items on the side, hurriedly counting up the amount before retrieving the change from the register.

“Thanks so much for stopping by!” He grins, pushing the change and items towards the boy. “Have a nice--”

Their skin brushes and suddenly, everything is painted in screaming  _ color.  _

Ouma’s fingers hitch, causing the brown (brown?) liquid to cascade over the white (white?!) styrofoam, burning both him and the other boy. Said boy curses, waving his hands and blowing on it in a desperate attempt to cool it down, but all Kokichi can do is stare and stare and stare.

“Hey,” Kokichi says, breathless, “what’s...what’s your name?”

The boy frowns. “It’s Saihara Shuuichi. Why the hell do you want to know?”

“Can’t...can’t you see it?”

“What the  _ hell  _ are you talking about?”

Ouma’s mind is a mess. “The colors.”

“I’ve been able to see colors for months.” Saihara grabs several napkins, drying his hands off before motioning at the girl who came in with him. “See? So stop playing these sick jokes on me. Please, I don’t want to create any more of a scene than this already is. Just...a refill, please.”

“O-oh. I’m so sorry.” Nodding like he thinks he’s going to faint, Ouma makes his way back to the hot chocolate machine.

 

.

 

The low glare of the computer screen reflects on Ouma’s eyelids, and he stares, search terms bubbling up as he looks at them for so long that they dissolve into words of nothingness.

_ soulmate but one isn’t a soulmate _

_ multiple soulmates for one person _

_ unrequited soulmates _

_ one way soulmates _

_ fake soulmates _

_ ways to see color other than soulmate _

The results come up soon enough, with professionals that have such sickly clean coats pushing up their glasses and letting nonsensical facts pour from their mouths.

“It’s certainly possible!” Says one woman with an uptight bun on the screen. “It’s very rare, with less than a one in a million chance, but there have been occurrences where a person finds their soulmate but they aren’t the soulmate of  _ their  _ soulmate, if that makes sense. It’s definitely a tragedy, to be sure, but it can’t be helped.” She shrugs. “At least, they can keep optimistic by the fact that they aren’t forced into a relationship in order to see color. Good for people who wish to live a life of celibacy.”

Ouma scowls and flips the woman off, but of course she can’t see the gesture.

He buries his face into the crook of his arm, breath coming in short bursts. 

This is just his luck, he thinks, and stays that in position until he passes out from sheer tiredness.

 

.

 

“Oh! You came in early, Ouma-kun! And you’ve dyed your hair!” Kiibo smiles with eyes that Ouma thinks people call  _ teal.  _ “Are you alright? You’ve got huge bags under your eyes. I’ve got some makeup in the back, if you want.”

He woke up early,  _ far  _ too early from a restless sleep and spent the rest of the night (or was it morning?) searching up color after color after color, the constant shades of white and black and grey turning into yellows and purples and greens.

_ Purple.  _ The shade is beautiful and feels like something so cold that it’s turning hot. Ouma drives out at 4 am, stops at the nearest drug store, grabs several bottles of the stuff, and  _ tries,  _ he tries  _ so hard _ to dye his hair. It takes several tries, and he stares, standing in the shower watching purple run down the drain.

He plays with a strand of his hair. “No thanks on the makeup. I’m good.” He yawns. “Do you like it?”

“Yes! I think it suits you wonderfully.” The other boy smiles. “However, you’ve still got to put on your apron. Not getting out of work that way, mister.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ouma puts on the apron (a dull olive green) and smoothes it out. The hair clip he’s apparently been wearing for as long as he can remember is a sparkly pink, but you know what? He likes it. Pink’s a great color.

A thought occurs to him. “Hey, Kiibo?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you met your soulmate?”

An embarrassed sputtering. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“O-Ouma-kun!”

He chuckles. “No need to be  _ embarrassed  _ about it, jeez. Are you  _ ashamed  _ of having one? There are people who would kill to be in your position, you know~”

“Asking someone about their soulmate out of the blue isn’t something you just  _ do!” _

“Well, I just did it.” Ouma walks over to the coffee machine and turns it on with a dull whirr. “Mind telling me who the lucky lad is?”

“...you wouldn’t know them.”

“I wouldn’t, huh?”

Kiibo looks at his hands. “I...haven’t seen them in a long time.” He laughs tiredly. “My soulmate apparently wasn’t interested in  _ having  _ a soulmate in the first place. So, uh…”

Ouma raises an eyebrow. “My condolences.” He hums. “I thought I’d have to be a higher level friend to unlock your tragic backstory.”

“I feel somewhat insulted.” Kiibo pouts. “And it wasn’t because of our friendship that I told you, it was because of...that person you met yesterday.” A long, drawn out pause. “He was your soulmate, wasn’t he…?”

Kokichi does not respond.

“Hey, I...I know that kid, actually. Saihara Shuuichi, he said his name was, right?”

He feels his heart leap just at the  _ mention  _ of the boy’s name, and he nods.

“I went to school with him. For college. We weren’t roommates, but he lived across the hall from me.” He swallows. “I have his phone number, still, so if you want, I could…”

Ouma grabs Kiibo’s hand, and the boy looks up in shock.

“Would you...would you really?” He whispers.

“Of course! Anything for a friend.”

Kokichi hugs the white (white!) haired boy so tight that he squeaks.

 

.

 

**Ouma Kokichi:** hey

**Saihara Shuuichi:** ??

**Saihara Shuuichi:** who dis

**Ouma Kokichi:** uh remember that one barista who spilled hot chocolate on you yesterday

**Saihara Shuuichi:** wtf that was you

**Ouma Kokichi:** yeaaa

**Ouma Kokichi:** the names ouma btw, Ouma Kokichi 

**Ouma Kokichi:** i’m real sorry abt that btw

**Saihara Shuuichi:** why do you have my number

**Ouma Kokichi:** thats a secret ;)

**Saihara Shuuichi:** ill block you

**Ouma Kokichi:** kiibo told me

**Saihara Shuuichi:** >_____>

**Ouma Kokichi:** the kid is a kind one ok

**Ouma Kokichi:** dont get pissed at him bc of me i just

**Ouma Kokichi:** i just. Really. Need to talk to you

**Saihara Shuuichi:** alright im listening.

**Ouma Kokichi:** when i touched your hand yesterday for the first time i really did see color i know you don’t believe me, i know you think i’m just pulling your leg, but...it’s true

**Ouma Kokichi:** i havent ever seen color before that i touched you and it happened it just did

**Saihara Shuuichi:** …

**Ouma Kokichi:** i know you dont believe me and i know youve already met your soulmate but apparently there are some people who touch their soulmate and its a one way thing idk but i just kinda wanted to let u know

**Ouma Kokichi:** dont be a stranger haha

**Ouma Kokichi:** sorry for bothering you

**Saihara Shuuichi:** no its ok

**Saihara Shuuichi:** i have. Something i want to say as well

**Ouma Kokichi:** ??

**Saihara Shuuichi:** i actually dont know if i have a soulmate or not

**Ouma Kokichi:** but

**Ouma Kokichi:** that girl,?

**Saihara Shuuichi:** kaede chan? i love her, more than anything in the world, but idk if shes my soulmate

**Saihara Shuuichi:** she claims she saw color when we first touched but uh. I apparently have a condition called colorblindness

**Saihara Shuuichi:** an Extreme version of colorblindness

**Saihara Shuuichi:** even if i touch my soulmate, even if we meet...i wont see color. Ever

**Saihara Shuuichi:** sorry for lying to u

**Ouma Kokichi:** no no its ok i. I think.

**Saihara Shuuichi:** hey ill make it up to u i feel bad

**Ouma Kokichi:** ?

**Saihara Shuuichi:** im still dating kaede so dont get the wrong idea about anything but if u want we can try meeting up? just like. Become bros

**Saihara Shuuichi:** itd be a real ass move of me to just be like “hey im possibly ur soulmate never talk to me again”

**Saihara Shuuichi:** u can meet kaede too shes the nicest person in the world

**Ouma Kokichi:** u rly love her huh

**Saihara Shuuichi:** u bet i do

**Ouma Kokichi:** ...yeah i think. Id like to become closer to u

**Saihara Shuuichi:** nice!!

**Saihara Shuuichi:** so when do u wanna meet up?

**Ouma Kokichi:** tomorrow im off work so i guess we could meet up then,

**Saihara Shuuichi:** why not just drop by at ur work? The food there is good

**Ouma Kokichi:** i guess if u like eating shit

**Saihara Shuuichi:** why are u dissing on ur own workplace

**Ouma Kokichi:** im spreading the truth

**Ouma Kokichi:** but yeah lets meet up there what time

**Saihara Shuuichi:** uh maybe 8 am?

**Ouma Kokichi:** boy what time do you think i wake up

**Saihara Shuuichi:** uh ok what about. Noon

**Ouma Kokichi:** better

**Saihara Shuuichi:** ok ill see u tomorrow then!!

**Ouma Kokichi:** ...see u

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentines day yall
> 
> Remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed!
> 
> (orphaned work as of: 10/21/2017)


End file.
